UFC Fight Night 40: Brown Vs. Silva Live Coverage, PBP

Tonight’s card comes to us live from the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Now, on to the action! Remember to keep hitting refresh for the latest results.

PRELIMINARY CARD

Anthony Lapsley vs. Albert Tumenov

We open up the card in the welterweight division, as Anthony Lapsley meets Albert Tumenov.

Lapsley (23-6) had his five-fight win streak snapped by Jason High last November, while Tumenov (12-2) was defeated in his UFC debut by Ildemar Alcantara in February.

Round 1: Tumenov is the striker, while Lapsley is the wrestler, and he shoots right in just seconds into the fight. Good defense from Tumenov, who just misses on a left hook. Lapsley with a nice kick to the body, but he eats a left hook that drops him. Quickly back to the feet and retreating now. Tumenov just misses on a head kick and lands a right. Excellent double-leg takedown by Lapsley, as he shoots in low and gets him down around the ankles. Tumenov, though, works right back to his feet and has him caught against the fence, landing a right and a left. Hook connects by Tumenov, but Lapsley survives and remains upright. Perfectly-timed combo from Tumenov and another lands, dropping Lapsley to the canvas. It was a left hook that finished him and gave Tumenov of the win and handshake from Joe Silva.

Let’s head to the lightweight division for our next fight, as Justin Salas meets Ben Wall.

Salas (11-5) fell to 2-2 with the promotion after a November submission loss to Thiago Tavares. He holds UFC wins vs. Aaron Riley and Anton Kuivanen. Wall (7-1) suffered his first loss when he was stopped by Alex Garcia last December.

Round 1: Salas goes for a takedown and gets denied. He tries twice more and Wall is defending well, but Salas gets him to his knees, working good shots to the body. Wall defends yet again and blocks a big kick to the face. Salas lands and stuns Wall, and he doesn’t let up, following up the right hook with a left to drop Wall. Salas pounces and this one is all over.

Gamburyan (13-7) is unbeaten in his last three after a loss to Dennis Siver was changed to a no-contest following a failed post-fight drug test for Siver. The former Ultimate Fighter runner-up has posted a 5-3 mark with the one no-contest in his last nine overall.

Lentz (24-6-2) is coming off a decision loss to Chad Mendes that snapped his three-fight win streak. He is 15-3-2 with one no-contest overall in his last 21 bouts.

Round 1: Nice rights from Lentz and he comes in hard on Gamburyan, forcing him to back up. Perfect lefts now are getting through from Lentz and Gamburyan is in trouble. Gamburyan goes for a takedown, trying to cut the distance and avoid more of the striking from Lentz. However, it’s Lentz in control on the canvas, grinding away on the back. He’s applying pressure, holding Gamburyan up against the fence. Big knee to the body and a second, but that one comes in low. Gamburyan drops and the ref steps in. Gamburyan coming out from the break with some intensity, but he gets out of position and Lentz scores a takedown.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Lentz

Round 2: Like his corner said, Gamburyan is coming right out after Lentz. However, we have a break as there was a loose piece of tape on the glove of Gamburyan. Back to the action and Lentz fires off a nice 1-2 combo, but Gamburyan answers and stuns him. Another left hook from Lentz, a shot by Gamburyan and these two are trading. Huge knee just misses by Lentz, but he continues to apply the pressure, pushing forward. Gamburyan with a single-leg takedown and into the guard. Lentz working for another takedown and he gets it, slamming Gamburyan to the ground. He quickly locks in a hook, looking to take the back but he is up against the fence. The right eye of Gamburyan is getting pounded on and he surrenders his neck with two minutes to go. Series of knees to the chest from Lentz and they just miss the chin – which would have been illegal. The ref was right in and saw where they went, and Gamburyan didn’t complain about it. Lots of wincing from Gamburyan, as his right eye is almost swollen shut. Lentz is latched on to his back, landing knees to the legs and body at will.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Lentz

Round 3: Lentz is just all over Gamburyan, attacking him at will. Gamburyan, though, just misses on a nice uppercut attempt. Lentz scores with a takedown, and Gamburyan is looking for a potential submission. He’s got the let arm in his grasp, working for a kimura. They roll and he now has a potential armbar or could take the back with three minutes to go. While trying to better his position, Lentz is able to get out and escape. Nice sweep reversal for Gamburyan, who is on top as we head under the two-minute mark. After just a few short moments on the ground, the ref stands them back up with two to go. Lentz takes the back off another takedown, working the body with knees.

We open up the televised action in the bantamweight division, as former title contender Eddie Wineland meets Johnny Eduardo.

Wineland (21-9-1) improved to 3-1 with a TKO victory over Yves Jabouin in January. That came on the heels of a September loss to Renan Barao for the UFC bantamweight title.

Eduardo (26-9) hasn’t fought since 2012 when he bested Jeff Curran by decision. He has overcome a shoulder injury and another unnamed injury to get back into fighting form.

Round 1: Wineland is just loading up, looking to unleash a massive right. Eduardo shoots, gets denied and eats a low blow for his effort. No stop and we are back to the action. As Jon Anik pointed out, over 720 days since Eduardo last fought. Unbelievable. Good low kick almost takes Wineland off his feet. Counter right off another inside leg kick from Wineland connects. Wineland with his own inside kick, and Eduardo answers with a jab. Good battle through the first four minutes. Eduardo stuns Wineland and he notices, coming in with another right and a left and Wineland is down and out. Was a right followed by a right that ended the night of Wineland.

We return to the welterweight ranks, as Yan Cabral takes on Zak Cummings.

Cabral (11-0) picked up his first non-submission victory in his career when he earned a decision over David Mitchell last year in his debut with the UFC. Prior to that, he had stopped all 10 of his foes by submission.

Cummings (16-3) made his debut with a submission win over Ben Alloway last August, moving his win streak to three in a row. He was on The Ultimate Fighter in 2013.

Round 1: Cummings loading up with his left and he catches Cabral. Counter lands and Cummings goes for a takedown. Cabral working for a triangle and he has it locked up just moments into the fight. He switches to another triangle as Cummings attempts to protect himself from elbows to the face. Cummings defends and escapes the submission hold. Cabral flexes his new-found wrestling, scoring a takedown with a minute left. Cabral ends the round on top.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Cabral

Round 2: Head kick from Cabral gets caught Cummings throws him to the canvas. He has no desire to engage on the ground this time. Big left from Cummings and another, as he lands a third. Cabral shakes his head and tells him to bring it. Cabral with a left and he shakes off another jab from Cummings. Cabral shoots, Cummings sprawls and winds up back in the guard. Cummings has no issues going to the ground on his terms despite the skill-set of his opponent. Cummings with a kick to the body and Cabral answers, firing off a shot and a kick of his own. Cummings with no problems stopping the takedown attempts, lands a nice right. He finishes the round with a takedown.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Cummings

Round 3: Cummings holding him against the fence, imposing his will and landing nice knees to the legs. Cabral powers his way off and unloads a spinning elbow to the chin. Another spinning elbow gets Cabral caught and taken to the ground. He gets himself caught in a triangle, but escapes without harm. Cabral still working for the submission, switches to the knee and gives up his back. Cummings now in the mount and the crowd voices its pleasure. He transitions to the back and unloads with lefts and rights. Body lock and a possible rear-naked choke or neck crank being applied by Cummings with two minutes, but he loses it. Cummings flattens him out and goes back for the choke. Cabral slips out the backdoor and into side control with a minute left. He’s going for a potential shoulder lock, but Cummings slips out after he goes for an armbar. Quickly back into side control for Cabral, but Cummings reverses and winds up on top to end the fight.

Our first of two flyweights matches will see Kyoji Horiguchi take on Darrell Montague.

Horiguchi (12-1) is a former Shooto champion and won his UFC debut by stopping Dustin Pague last year. The 23-year-old is on a six-fight win streak.

Montague (13-3) lost his first fight inside the Octagon to John Dodson last October. The former Tachi Palace Fights champion defeated Ulysses Gomez for the belt, but lost it to Ian McCall.

Round 1: Both fighters trying to find the range early on, throwing huge strikes and kicks. Horiguchi almost catches Montague sleeping for a brief moment, and Montague fires back with a takedown. Active ground game for Horiguchi allows him to get to his feet, and he delivers a nice switch kick to the body. Good exchange by the two in the center of the Octagon. Horiguchi can seemingly jump in from several feet away and still land. He got quite the spring in his step.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Horiguchi

Round 2: Montague powers his way into a head-and-arm choke, but gets free. Horiguchi picks him up and Montague locks up a choke, forcing him to release the takedown attempt. Horiguchi catches him against the fence and unloads. Montague almost goes down, but he remains on his feet. Montague takes off and Horiguchi chases him. Takedown attempt from Montague and Horiguchi jumps on his back, as Montague is a bloody mess with two minutes to go. Good job by the referee to let them keep fighting, as Montague had recovered. Horiguchi still in a commanding position, looking to break him down. Big takedown opens Montague up for most shots. A kick to the body followed up by a shot to the body from Horiguchi. Huge left by Montague lands. Another body kick almost drops Montague, but he quickly recovers, only to eat another left hook and a huge right. Montague is on his bicycle, but tries to land a counter.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Horiguchi

Round 3: Montague looked finished there, and had trouble standing after the round ended. He’s back out for the third, though, and firing away on Horiguchi. Another glancing blow to the body of Montague. Another swooping left hook from Horiguchi, which is answered by a missed flying knee. Takedown by Horiguchi with three minutes to go and he postures up, hammering down big lefts. Montague misses on a sweep from guard and eats big strikes for his decision. Not a good idea there. Upkick, though, from Montague lands, as he flips to get out and we wind up in butterfly guard.

Herman (21-10) has just one official win in his last four, losing to Thales Leites and Ronaldo Souza. He also lost to Jake Shields, but that was overturned to a no-contest after Shields failed his post-fight drug test.

Natal (17-5-1) had his three-fight win streak stopped by Tim Kennedy in November, losing via knockout. He is 5-3-1 in his Octagon career.

Round 1: Good exchange early, as Herman goes to the head and Natal to the body. Kick from the Brazilian hurts Herman moments in and he follows with a takedown. Herman uses the cage to get to his feet with just over a minute left. Trip takedown from Herman on Natal and he works to better his position. Good shots from the top by Herman, landing a huge elbow that busts open a cut on the eye of Natal.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Herman

Round 2: Herman with a left, but Natal answers with two leg kicks. Herman is not checking those and that could be bad. He catches him this time and lands a counter. Herman executing good combos, firing off power lefts and rights. Perfectly timed takedown from Natal as we head under three minutes. Herman, though, is doing a nice job of working off his back.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Natal

Round 3: Herman walking down Natal, who snaps off a left. Herman defends off a takedown attempt with ease, tossing Natal to the side. Cut opened up over the nose area of Natal, as Herman caught him with a glancing knee on the way in after a takedown. Two big left hooks followed by a right from Herman, and he appears to have Natal hurt. More big shots from Herman, who is continuing to stalk his opponent. He has turned Natal’s face into a bloody mess, but he fires off a kick to the face. Spinning back fist connects from Natal.

Let’s kick the main card off with flyweight action, as Chris Cariaso takes on Louis Smolka.

Cariaso (16-5) has won his last two, defeating Danny Martinez and Iliarde Santos. Prior to that, he had lost two straight after winning three in a row.

Smolka (7-0) earned a win in his UFC debut by besting Alptekin Ozkilic earlier this year. The Hawaiian has won two fights by knockout and four more via submission.

Round 1: Smolka backing Cariaso up against the fence, throws a huge head kick that goes over his head. Cariaso, though, lands a counter and they lock up. Smolka with a nice knee to the body inside the clinch, as these two are feelign each other out. Cariaso with a head kick of his own, as his striking has been on-point. Despite a huge reach advantage, Smolka has not been able to use it, as he keeps getting tied up. Rapid-fire lefts to the body from Smolka from in close, as he drops for a single-leg against the fence. Cariaso rolls into a submission, but Smolka counters.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Cariaso

Round 2: Cariaso to the back in the middle of the Octagon and has both hooks in. He’s working for a rear-naked choke with four minutes to go, transitioning to a neck crank for the moment. Smolka remains calm and transitions out and gets to his feet. Potential armbar for Cariaso, who shifts to a triangle and back to the armbar, but Smolka counters. Nice exchange on the ground. Cariaso has negated the disadvantage, using his experience to pick Smolka apart. Beautiful combo lands from Cariaso, as Smolka’s head snaps back and we go under a minute. Cariaso locked in a choke and had it tight, but the round ends.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Cariaso

Round 3: Smolka sensing he is behind, as he is trying to push the tempo. Nice takedown from the youngster and he goes to work. Smolka gets the full mount as we go under three minutes and he lands a big elbow from the position. Smolka doing a great job of avoiding the submission attempts of Cariaso, but he is able to get to his feet with two minutes left. Good exchange with 90 seconds left, as they trade lefts. Smolka and Cariaso finish off standing.

Our only heavyweight fight of the evening features Soa Palelei and Ruan Potts.

Palelei (20-3) is on a 10-fight win streak that includes UFC finishes vs. Pat Barry and Nikita Krylov. Overall, the 36-year-old has stopped 16 of his opponents by knockout and the other four via submission. His three losses have also been finishes.

Potts (8-1) is making his Octagon debut after wining the EFC Africa heavyweight title. He owns four knockout and four more submission wins to his resume.

Round 1: Potts looking to unleash some leg kicks early on, as Palelei has some tree trunks for legs. Takedown from Palelei and into side control. Potential choke for Potts here as we head under four minutes, and he rolls to an anaconda. However, Palelei breaks free and Potts winds back up in the guard. Potts goes for a triangle choke from the ground, but Palelei’s too big and powers his way into mount. One shot and Potts is out cold. The ref jumped in to save him from further damage. It was a left hook from Palelei that finished him. Potts has gotten to his feet. Palelei kissed the ref on the cheek after he stepped in.

Soa Palelei def. Ruan Potts via KO (left-hook) at 2:20 of Round 1

Neil Magny vs. Tim Means

Welterweights Neil Magny and Tim Means hit the Octagon next.

Magny (9-3) improved to 2-2 in the UFC with a decision victory over Gasan Umalatov in February. He was a member of The Ultimate Fighter, making it to the semifinals.

Round 1: Despite being a little taller, Means is at a reach disadvantage against Magny. Means is holding the center of the Octagon, coming forward and provoking Magny. Magny, though, doesn’t seem interested in exchanging at the moment. Magny lands a nice right, but Means comes right back after him, walking him down and trying to get the fight going. Nice little battle for a takedown results in the two up against the fence. Body lock allows Magny to score a takedown with 90 seconds left. He moves to the back, but that allows Means to stand up. Magny using his reach, peppering off lefts. Means, though, answers with a spinning attack and Magny backs up. Magny with a left-right combo that dropped him and he follows up, going for a double leg takedown but eating several elbows for his effort.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Magny

Round 2: Means back applying the pressure, walking Magny down. Good head and lateral movement out of Magny, and it appears to be driving Means crazy. However, he lands a good elbow from in close that hurts him. Means takes his back, moves to side control, to the back again and decides to just unload lefts while holding Magny’s head down. Knees to the body and a knee to the head. Magny thought it was illegal, but the ref was right in and didn’t stop anything so we continue. Side kick from Means connects, as he is having better luck now with a minute left in the round. Magny scores a takedown, but Means gets right to his feet.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Means

Round 3: Means lands and Magny appears hurt, but he is able to recover quickly. Magny with a combo that connects, and Means comes right back after him. Means drops Magny again to one knee. He waits to throw some shots so not to have illegal blows, but that allows Magny to recover. Means locks up a choke and Magny falls to the canvas, breaking the submission. Magny scores with a takedown, but again, no damage inflicted. One more takedown from Magny with 90 seconds left. He gets a hook in, goes for a rear-naked, switches back to mount and back to rear-naked. Both hooks are now in position with a minute to go.

Our second lightweight contest of the night features Erik Koch against Daron Cruickshank. UFC president Dana White stated this fight could be the “sleeper” bout of the card.

Koch (14-3) snapped a two-fight losing skid by finishing Rafaello Oliveira earlier this year. He had won four straight before losses to Dustin Poirier and Ricardo Lamas.

Cruickshank (14-4) is 2-1 in his last three, topping Mike Rio in January and Yves Edwards last year. He had won 12 of his first 14 pro fights before entering the Octagon, including a win over Mike Ricci.

Round 1: Koch the aggressor, but it’s Cruickshank who lands the first strike, connecting with a right and showcasing a spinning attack. Koch with a smooth combo and Cruickshank answers with a side-kick. Counter from “The Detroit Superstar” slips through the defense. Big-time inside leg kick from Koch to the inner thigh. Cruickshank connects and stuns Koch. He pounces and unloads on Koch, forcing the ref to step in. Was a head kick that first dropped Koch, who appeared to be woke back up when he hit the canvas.

Daron Cruickshank def. Erik Koch via TKO (strikes) at 3:21 of Round 1

Costas Philippou vs. Lorenz Larkin

In the co-main event, Costas Philippou will take on Lorenz Larkin in a middleweight scrap.

Philippou (12-4) is coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of Luke Rockhold and Francis Carmont. Prior to that, though, he had won five in a row, including wins over Tim Boetsch and Court McGee.

Larkin (14-2) has gone 1-2 in his last three since signing with the UFC. He dropped a pair of decisions to Brad Tavares and Carmont around a win over Chris Camozzi. In 2012, Larkin defeated Robbie Lawler while both were fighting for Strikeforce.

Round 1: Larkin trying to stay off the fence, something Michael Bisping told me earlier this week he needed to do. However, Philippou backs him up with some heavy strikes. They clinch and Larkin lands a quick knee from in close. Nice kick to the leg by Larkin, and Philippou answers. Larkin with an uppercut and he attacks, connecting with a combo. Good exchange, and Philippou with another big right that leaves Larkin to clinch. Wild scramble and Philippou lands a left to the body that stuns Larkin and follows up with a right that knocks him out cold.

It’s time for our main event, as welterweights Matt Brown and Erick Silva square off.

Brown (18-11) has put together a six-fight win streak that includes five finishes. He has topped the likes of Mike Pyle, Jordan Mein, Mike Swick and Stephen Thompson during his run, pushing his overall UFC record to 11-5.

Silva (16-4) has gone 3-3 in his last six, but is coming off a TKO victory over Takenori Sato earlier this year. He has defeated Jason High and Charlie Brenneman during his current stretch, while falling to Dong Hyun Kim, Jon Fitch and Carlo Prater.

Round 1: And here we go. These two went nose-to-nose while being instructed. Brown comes out right after Silva, gets picked up and thrown down, but Brown reverses him. The crowd is into it and Silva lands a body kick and an uppercut. Silva hits him again and Brown is in trouble. Silva is hammering away, but Brown survives. Silva takes his back and works to secure a neck crank. He has hooks in and is working on loosening Brown up for the choke. Silva rolls and only has a neck crank at the moment, as the hand is around his chin. He breaks free for a moment with three minutes left. Brown breaks the hold, gets to his feet and goes right after Silva. Huge shot and he has Silva backing up. Brown is teeing off, knees to the head and Silva is rattled. Vicious elbows from Brown and the crowd is going nuts. Silva fires back and eats another knee to the body, followed by more elbows with a minute left in the round. They exchange head kicks. Brown drops Silva and throws him head first to the ground. Big kick to the body and another knee, followed by more elbows, from Brown. Brown with a big takedown to end this incredible and crazy round.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Brown

Round 2: Brown picks up right where he left off, rocking Silva, who comes back with a kick. Brown is hurting from that, but Silva doesn’t attack. Instead, it’s Brown with a series of shots and another big knee to the body. One more to the head and elbows to the face. Brown is throwing everything he has at him. Brown catches him in the clinch and unloads with more huge knees. Silva is hurt, but he lands a body shot that hurts Brown. He can’t follow up and Brown recovers, taking him down. He locks up his arms and starts teeing off with rights in side control. Brown going for a triangle choke. He can’t get it and goes to the mount, teeing off on Silva with a minute left. Brown transitions to an armbar but it allows Silva to get up. He gets caught, though, and Brown has his head locked up. Silva gets free and these two are exhausted.

FightLine scores the round 10-9 for Brown

Round 3: Brown with a pair of hard lefts and he catches him against the fence again. More knees to the head and this one is close to getting stopped. Spinning back fist from Brown, who is showing everything he has. Silva breathing heavily as we approach three minutes left in this round. Brown with a massive elbow from the top and Silva is busted open. He’s landing big lefts from the top and Silva isn’t covering up. An elbow gets through and Silva curls up. Before more damage can be done, this one is called off.